the fish to the pond. "Perhaps for $1,000."
I gulped. The term "goldfish" in this in
stance took on an almost literal meaning.
Though I didn't buy, I could understand
why he valued such a fine specimen so highly.
For years to come, possibly as many as 15,
this handsome breeder fish could yield thou
sands of progeny of similar design.
I recalled the charming story of a jet-black
Moor that had even greater value. Moors,
usually blue-black in color, tend to turn
bronzy or reddish at some point in their life.
This individual, originally named Old Black
Joe, reportedly turned red, white, and blue
during World War I, became known as "Miss
Liberty," and was used to promote the sale of
Liberty bonds. Its owner valued his patriotic
possession at an imposing $5,000.
Chinese Improve on Nature's Mistakes
The first fancy goldfish were nature's cre
ations, produced by unknown factors that
triggered chromosome alterations. The Chi
nese, with their traditional interest in dragons
and mythical monsters, segregated these de
viants and mated them with similar sorts to
produce living freaks, weird and outlandish.
Over the centuries finicky selection of the
progeny and repeated inbreeding or crossing
resulted in new strains to intrigue the esthetic
sensibilities of Oriental fish fanciers.
Though the variations in shape, color, and
size are numerous, all goldfish are of one
species, Carassius auratus. And probably no
goldfish contains pigments other than orange,
yellow, and black. The beautiful blues, dra
matic reds, and other colors we see in some
varieties are produced by combinations of
these three colors, plus the effects of light
refraction and reflection.
By the time fancy goldfish firmly appeared
in recorded history, during China's Sung
Dynasty (A.D . 960-1279), they were well es
tablished as household pets. Fascination with
these multihued relatives of the common
carp spread throughout the Orient. By the
16th century selective breeding had become
common practice.
In the 18th century newly forged trade
routes carried goldfish to Europe. King Louis
XV of France reportedly obtained some of
the first specimens from China as a gift for
Madame de Pompadour. Russian Prince
Potemkin so loved his collection that he dec
orated banquet tables with goldfish bowls.
In the 19th century goldfish reached the
New World. One account credits P. T. Bar
num with importing several as early as 1850.
By 1865 a New York pet store was selling
them as novelties.
Descendants of the original chin yii, as the
Chinese know the common variety, today
rank among the most popular of household
pets in the United States. Each year Ameri
cans buy an astounding 60 million common
goldfish-a figure almost twice that of the
nation's estimated dog population.
Unlike the common variety, fancies until
recently enjoyed limited popularity outside
Asia, for several reasons. They are expensive:
A retail price of $25 to $50 is not unusual for
an extremely fine lionhead, celestial, or bub
ble eye. More readily available Moors, fan
tails, and calicoes cost as much as $5 each.
And breeding of fancies requires a consid
erable degree of expertise. Unless carefully
controlled, they tend within a few generations
to revert to the ancestral form.
"Goldfish breeding is the riskiest business
in the world," says one breeder. "Anything
can happen to them, and usually does."
Orient Dominates Goldfish Trade
Even hardy common goldfish may yield
only six or eight salable offspring for every
hundred eggs laid. Fingerlings raised in out
door ponds may succumb to diseases, insects,
snakes, hawks, and other enemies. A bullfrog,
for example, may consume eight in less than
24 hours. Adult goldfish also fall prey to a
host of diseases and predators.
Cultivating goldfish calls for art and acu
men as well as caution, traits of the Japanese
and Korean breeders who have been extraor
dinarily successful in elaborating on types im
ported from China.
The creation of a new variant is usually
heralded by the press. One Tokyo success,
a breed that may well remain forever rare, is
the lionhead veiltail, a pumpkin-faced variety
Straight out of a Jules Verne fantasy: With mottled coat and goggle-eyes, a calico
telescope cruises nearsightedly in search of food. Tropical fish have claimed the spotlight
in recent decades, but fancy goldfish are gaining popularity as aquarium favorites.
Specimens of many varieties are priced at less than $5 each.
National Geographic, April 1973
518